Mark: Alright Michelle, I sent you this tiny book. Your review, five words only. Michelle: Surprisingly... not a cult pamphlet. Mark: Okay, fair! Mine is: "Simple, spooky, and it works." Michelle: Spooky is a good word for it. It’s so direct it feels like it’s hiding something. What is this little red book? Mark: This is It Works. And the author is, fittingly, just "Anonymous." It’s this tiny, potent self-help pamphlet that has been quietly circulating for almost a century. Michelle: Anonymous, really? That adds to the mystique. Mark: It does. And that "Anonymous" part is fascinating because it's led to a lot of confusion over the years. Many people mix this book up with a very important and well-regarded Narcotics Anonymous text called It Works: How and Why. But the book we're diving into today is different. It’s a relic from 1926, a pure distillation of the American New Thought movement. Michelle: 1926! So this is pre-Depression, Roaring Twenties optimism in a bottle. What’s the big secret from nearly a hundred years ago that’s supposedly going to change our lives? Does it involve a secret handshake? Mark: No handshake, but it does involve a secret. The book’s entire premise kicks off by tackling a huge misconception most of us have about getting what we want.

Michelle: Okay, I’m listening. What’s the misconception? Mark: The book argues that most of us don't actually desire things. We just wish for them. There's a universe of difference between the two. Michelle: Wishing versus desiring. That sounds like semantics, but I have a feeling it’s not. Mark: It’s the absolute core of the whole book. The author paints this picture of everyday people. There’s Jimmy, the office boy, who sees a fancy red roadster and says, "Gee, I wish I had a car like that." There’s Florence, the operator, who sees a diamond ring in a window and sighs, "I wish that were mine." Michelle: Oh, I know that feeling. That’s basically my internal monologue when I scroll through Instagram. A constant stream of low-grade, passive wanting. Mark: Exactly! The book calls this "mere wishing." It’s fleeting, it’s vague, and it has no power. The author says this kind of wishing is like a beggar hoping for a horse to ride. It’s a fantasy. An earnest desire, on the other hand, is something different. It’s focused, it’s clear, and it’s deeply felt. It’s when your objective mind—the one you use every day—decides definitively on what it wants. Michelle: So it’s about moving from "Wouldn't it be nice if..." to "This is what I am directing my energy toward." Mark: Precisely. And here’s where it gets a little spooky, as you said. The author claims that when you generate this earnest desire, you tap into a powerful inner resource. He calls it the "Omnipotent Power within," or even gives it a name: "Emmanuel." Michelle: Wait, Emmanuel? So I have a guy named Emmanuel in my head who can get me a parking spot? Come on, Mark, let's ground this. Mark: I know, I know. The language is very 1920s. But think of it in modern terms. Is it just another name for the subconscious mind? Or maybe the Reticular Activating System in our brain? Michelle: Ah, the RAS! The thing that makes you see red cars everywhere the moment you decide you want a red car. Your brain starts filtering the world to show you what you’ve told it is important. Mark: That's a perfect modern analogy for it. The book argues that by creating a clear, earnest desire, you are essentially giving your inner "Emmanuel"—or your RAS—a direct command. You're telling it, "This is the target. Filter out the noise and show me the path." Vague wishes are just static. A definite desire is a clear signal. Michelle: That makes a lot of sense. It reframes it from a mystical power to a psychological one. You’re not magically attracting things; you’re priming your own perception and motivation to recognize and seize opportunities you would have otherwise missed. Mark: And the key ingredient is that earnestness. The book says, "you must be really in earnest about what you want." It has to be truthful and sincere. A half-hearted wish won't establish the connection. Michelle: Which, going back to my Instagram example, feels so incredibly relevant. We are drowning in a sea of casual, half-hearted wants. A thousand little "I wish I had that" moments for someone else's vacation, someone else's kitchen, someone else's job. But maybe all that noise prevents us from forming one single, deep, earnest desire for what we truly want. Mark: That’s the diagnosis. And once you’ve found that one earnest desire, the book gives you a very specific, and very strange, plan to make it happen.

Michelle: Okay, I’m ready for the secret formula. I’m guessing it’s more complicated than just thinking really hard. Mark: You’d be surprised. It’s almost insultingly simple. There are three positive rules of accomplishment. Rule one: Get a notebook and write down the things you desire. Be specific. Don't just write "a new car." Write "a 2024 blue Tesla Model 3 with the white interior, costing no more than X." Michelle: I like the specificity. It forces you to move from a vague dream to a concrete goal. It’s the difference between saying "I want to be healthy" and "I will go to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7 AM." Mark: Exactly. Rule two: Read your list three times every day. Morning, noon, and night. The idea is to constantly impress this desire upon your subconscious mind. Michelle: So far, this sounds like pretty standard goal-setting advice. Write it down, review it often. I’m with you. What’s rule three? Mark: Rule three is the one that gets people. You must not talk to anyone about your plan. Michelle: Hold on. Tell no one? That goes against everything we hear today! We're told to declare our goals, get accountability partners, post it on social media, build a support system. Why the vow of silence? Mark: This is the most counter-cultural part of the book. The author’s logic is that a new desire is like a fragile, newborn thing. Exposing it to the world, especially to skeptics, is dangerous. Their doubt, their "it's not possible" attitude, can poison your own belief before it has a chance to take root. Michelle: So it’s not about being a secretive weirdo, it’s about protecting your own mindset. You’re shielding your goal from negativity. Mark: That's the idea. The author uses this wonderful analogy of a grain of corn. He says, you plant a grain of corn in fertile soil. You don't have to understand the mysterious process of how it draws nutrients from the earth and sunlight from the sky to sprout into a stalk and produce hundreds of new grains. Your job is just to plant it and protect it. Michelle: And telling a skeptic your big dream is like digging up the seed every day to check if it's growing. You kill it with impatience and doubt. Mark: You kill it with doubt! Theirs or your own. The book says you only discuss your plan with your inner self, with that "Omnipotent Power." You trust that it knows the "how." Your job is just to hold the "what" with unwavering focus. Michelle: I can see the psychological wisdom in that. It’s like protecting your code before it’s compiled. You don't show the buggy, half-finished beta version to your harshest critic. You wait until it’s robust and functional. You’re managing your own psychology and not letting someone else's limiting beliefs become your own. Mark: And that faith, that trust in the process, is non-negotiable. But this power, as the book makes very clear, is not a toy. It comes with a serious warning label.

Michelle: Ah, here it comes. I was waiting for the catch. Mark: It’s a big one, and it’s what elevates this little book from a simple manifestation guide to a piece of wisdom literature. The author includes a stark chapter called "Caution." And the central message is a quote: "You can have what you want, but you must take all that goes with it." Michelle: The monkey's paw clause! Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it... along with a whole lot of stuff you didn't bargain for. Mark: Exactly. You don't get to pick and choose the consequences. You get the whole package. And the book gives this chilling implied story, which we can call "The Businessman's Regret." Michelle: Let's hear it. Mark: Imagine a driven, ambitious businessman named John in the late 90s. His single, earnest desire is "wealth." He writes it down. He reads it every day. He tells no one. And it starts to work. His company grows, he starts making money. But to get there faster, he starts cutting corners. Product safety is compromised. He exploits his employees. He justifies it all because it’s serving his great desire: wealth. Michelle: I can see where this is going. Mark: His marriage falls apart because he's never home. His employees are demoralized. Eventually, the faulty products lead to injuries and lawsuits. Regulators launch an investigation. His reputation is destroyed, the company is hit with massive fines, and he faces financial ruin. He got what he desired—wealth, for a time—but he had to take everything that came with the way he got it. He ended up miserable, alone, and broke. Michelle: Wow. That is powerful. He got exactly what he asked for, but not what he truly wanted deep down. His desire was too simple, too crude. He wanted "wealth," but what he probably really wanted was security, happiness, respect, and freedom. Mark: And the book warns that this power is impartial. It will fulfill a destructive desire just as readily as a constructive one. The responsibility is on you to have the wisdom to desire things that are for the greatest good of yourself and for others. Michelle: That changes everything. The focus shifts from "How do I get what I want?" to the much more important question: "What is truly worth wanting?" Mark: That is the entire point. The book isn't just a tool for acquiring possessions; it's a manual for developing wisdom. It forces you to think through the second and third-order consequences of your ambitions.

Michelle: So when you put it all together, it’s a surprisingly complete system. Mark: It really is. You have this three-part engine for a more intentional life. First, you have to cultivate that deep, earnest desire, cutting through the noise of casual wishing. Second, you follow the simple, focused plan of writing, reading, and protecting that desire. And third, you apply the wisdom to ensure your desires are constructive and that you're prepared for all that comes with them. Michelle: It’s less about magic and more about a radical, almost meditative focus. In a world that is designed to scatter our attention into a million tiny fragments, maybe the most powerful and counter-cultural act is to quietly, secretly, and earnestly focus on one important thing. Mark: Perfectly put. It’s a discipline of attention. And the author’s final plea in the book is to share the idea, based on the principle that "You get by giving." He believed that by helping others find this focus, your own power and prosperity would grow. It’s a very hopeful, interconnected worldview. Michelle: I like that. It’s not just about hoarding this secret for yourself. So, for anyone listening who is intrigued by this, what's a small, concrete step they could take this week? Mark: I think the best place to start is with the first step. Don't even make a list yet. Just pick one thing you find yourself casually wishing for—a promotion, a new gadget, a vacation. Michelle: And then ask yourself the hard questions. Am I truly, deeply in earnest about this? Is this my desire, or something I’ve absorbed from the world around me? And most importantly, what comes with it? What is the whole package I’m signing up for? Mark: That’s the exercise right there. A simple check-in on the quality of your own wanting. It might be the most productive thing you do all week. Michelle: A profound thought from a spooky little book from 1926. Mark: This is Aibrary, signing off.